99% Of Beginner Writers Make This One Common Mistake On Medium
And this is painful
Do you like the above picture?👆
Of course, you don’t, right? The reason? It’s messy. It’s dirty. It’s unorganized. It’s unpleasant. It looks ugly. So on and so forth.
Now what if I told you that you need to spend the rest of your life living in this home without changing anything in it? Impossible to say “Yes,” Isn’t it?
It’s extremely hard to live in a home like this. It’s not something we as humans do or like. We love clean and organized things. We love aesthetics. We love decoration.
Human Nature 101.
Now listen: It’s pretty much the same analogy. What if your Medium profile is the same as this home? Messy (dog picture in the logo.) Unorganized (I love cats in bio.) Unpleasant (nothing, or random things in the profile.)
Will the reader want to follow you? Of course, they won’t.
And this is the mistake you might be making. You’re not treating your Medium profile like a home. A beautiful home.
You have no profile picture of your own. Your bio is unclear. You have no banner post. You have nothing on the About page.
You’re making a giant mistake!
Here’s how a reader follows you.
They come across any of your stories. (work) they check your profile. They look for your profile picture, bio, about page, etc. If they like the profile — you get their following. If not? You lost a potential follower.
What’s happening?
Basically, you’re inviting the reader and saying “Hey come visit my home, and if you like it, stay there by following me and I’ll serve you as long as you’re in my house. Serve you? Your stories are their food.”
Does that make sense?
So if your profile isn’t good enough you’re not only losing followers on the table but also it’s hard to build trust with your existing followers.
The amount of information about you in your profile decides how much your readers trust you. So simple.
This means, a well-optimized profile not only helps you get more followers but also helps build trust and relationships with the readers.
And this is why you should optimize your profile, my friend.
So you ask: how can I optimize my profile, Har? Awesome.
Let’s dig deep into it.
1. Profile Picture
Mistake
When it comes to having a profile picture, many people make mistakes doing it.
Some people put dogs, cats, stars, and monkeys in the profile picture, while other people are afraid of putting their profile in the logo. They’ve got an imposter syndrome, which they absolutely need to kill.
Solution
Let’s face it: people relate to people.
So having a profile of your own instantly stands you out from the crowd and helps the reader see the person behind the account. This means, you not only get a follow from the reader, but they also trust you.
So put your own picture in that damn logo.
Example:
2. Bio
Mistake
I like cats. I like dogs. Coffee lover. Foodie.
Who cares?
The reader doesn’t want to know whether you like dogs or cats, or whether you sip tea or coffee. The reader simply doesn’t care about you.
The reader is on your profile because they want something from you — value. And here’s how you provide it.
Solution
Your bio should show 2 things:
- Who you are: Are you a coder, writer, designer, coach, video editor, or a Medium growth guy? Show who you are.
- What you can do for the reader: Tell the reader how you can help them achieve a particular goal or result.
If you nail these 2 things, you have nailed the foundation of profile optimization.
Example:
3. Banner Post
Mistake
I see some writers add irrelevant banner posts to their accounts.
The second mistake I see is, some writers never bother having a banner post, while other writers don’t even know they can add a banner post to their account.
Insane!
Solution
You can’t just add anything to the banner, it has to be relevant to what you do. So add a banner post that is relevant to your brand.
So add a banner that supports your brand or message.
Example:
4. About Page
Mistake
The only mistake you make here is not having your About page written.
Solution
Even if it’s 100 words, just write it down in the About section. Or if you want to do it better then add something meaningful like telling your journey or your background.
This helps the reader understand who you actually are.
Example:
5. Pinned Story
Mistake
I’m not a huge proponent of having a pinned story. But can say it does help the reader understand more about yourself.
I see a lot of writers pinned so many stories in their profiles. Some writers do 5 stories, while others do more. It’s a mistake if you add more than 2 stories to your profile.
Solution
The point of adding a pinned story is to give the reader instant value by showing them something interesting or offering them something that can help them achieve a result.
And the best way to do this is to just add only ONE pinned story. Two stories are also fine. But if you have more than 2, you’re making a mistake.
Don’t forget the readers also look for the latest stories when they check your profile. So if it takes a LONG scroll to find the recent story, you might lose the reader's attention. Remember this.
Example:
This is how you do it.
Let’s face it: You can’t be anonymous and expect to grow fast, get more views, or make more money. It’s not going to happen.
If that was the case I wouldn’t have all the things in my profile. There is reason behind it. I’m not just saying anything randomly.
I do what I preach.
I believe a well-optimized profile looks like this:
Want more? Learn how I went viral 74 times using these powerful strategies by clicking the below story:
